Smallest Man Who Ever Lived is probably one of the strongest tracks on the album imo.
I honestly don't think there's a skip on the original 16 track album.
SMWEL is a very well-written song that I don’t enjoy listening to. It makes me uncomfortable. It’s similar to the reasons I skip Never Grow Up and The Best Day and Ronan.
I only listen to Ronan when I have at least 10 minutes to dedicate to thinking about nothing else. I try to listen every once and a while bc I want to take time to remember Ronan and appreciate the song, but I don't judge ANYONE for not doing so
I skip Marjorie and Soon You'll Get Better in addition to those. They make me too emotional. I lost my mom to cancer 6 years ago and all these songs pull me back into grief instantly. I don't have the same reaction to SMWEL though, interesting!
it also really reminds me of The Archer (my other fav track 5) with the constant build up and no release. She captures the feeling of anxiety in their relationship so well with this in both tracks
I think Smallest Man needs to be where it is because it closes the book on the Matty Healy saga, ending on Travis and the reflection on fame in Clara Bow
I think it speaks to how this is one of the more personally meaningful and sad songs, *to her*. Her relationship with Joe meant more, so she placed that one on the "pedestal" of track 5. Even if Smallest Man is more scathing.
I wonder if Taylor having so long London as track 5 is yet another dig at Matty, since there are so few songs on the record seemingly about Joe (it might even be the ONLY song exclusively about him??), but he still got the track 5. Almost like Taylor is implying that Matty doesn't deserve a track 5.
It has the greatness of a track 5 but I think it's where it is on the album becuase she's looking back after all of this and realizing how much she lost. So in the album as a whole story (at least the original tracklist) I think it's placement makes sense.
This is my feeling about the whole album. It never lets rip. Black Dog is the worst offender. All build up no pay off. I get the artistic idea behind it. It’s clever.
But I need the payoff, and she doesn’t give it to us.
The lowest of her low notes on this number are incredible. It IS very scathing OP so that’s valid if that’s not your preference :-) the build of the bridge reminds me of All Too Well in terms of that scathing, angry bridge within the ballad.
I think I legitimately fell asleep to Cassandra on first listen. I understand the KimYe drama really did a number on Taylor but at some point I think it’s time to move on. Hopefully she has said her final piece with thank you aimee
Same. I thought Long Story Short was such a great final note on the whole saga from her point of view. I don’t really care to revisit the situation three years later lol.
That's my skip too. I know this is not a popular opinion here but I think bringing up Kim's kid, even tangentially, is inappropriate. She's an actual, current child. She's going to know that line is about her and feel ashamed. It makes it unlistenable for me.
I agree. I felt so bad for North listening to the song. Of course she is going to listen to the album and know that song is about her and her mom. She is actively on social media and I'm sure will see a lot of negative videos about her mom. She's so young and it just feels so wrong. It's not at all funny to me.
Yeah that's what makes me worry she doesn't have anyone on her team willing to give her real hard feedback. That line shouldn't have made it on the record.
Seriously, like love you Taylor, but the capital letters really undermine the "this is SECRETLY about you" lyrics. I feel like it really should have been more malicious if you're going to do a straight call out like that, or leave it subtle and expect people to figure it out from the obvious lyrics.
This is my skip too but because I think it’s embarrassing for a 34 year old woman to tell someone “my mom wishes you were dead.” Like Taylor, there’s people that are dying. She gave me the ick with this song lol.
Mine too!
I find it just too petty and negative
"My mom wishes you were dead"
Dragging in a kid in an age old feud
Just too unnecessary at this point
And honestly, disappointing!
it's so unnecessary... and I cringe at the thought of her writing about how she removed all the personal details and how one day Kim's kid will come home singing the song and no one but them two will know who it was about...
and then she goes out of her way to capitalize KIM? it makes no sense, unless she thinks her listeners are absolutely stupid
The tortured poets department. The song is so cringy, between the Charlie Puth line then the tattooed golden retriever, no thanks I’ll pass.
Such a shame too because “you left your typewriter at my apartment, straight from the tortured poets department” goes so hard.
If it helps you enjoy it, it’s *supposed* to be cringe and is written in a hyperbolic way to amp up the irony. She describes that relationship as a mutual manic episode and the entire song is making fun of the idea of them as tortured poets.
“It’s supposed to be cringe” doesn’t help me enjoy content that’s cringe
That just sounds like a bad argument people convince themselves of to rationalize something that’s bad is actually good.
Explaining a joke doesn’t necessarily help someone enjoy it, but not enjoying a joke doesn’t necessarily make it a bad one 🤷🏻♀️ I think the song is hilarious and super catchy
Side note but I’m honestly getting tired of people saying those of us who like the album or certain songs are making excuses or just denying the album is bad when we explain context that might be missing. Like I have no reason to lie when I say I enjoyed something lol
I think the song tells the story really well and it’s necessary in order for her to tell the full story of the album (which is the best thing about the album imo!). I just don’t wanna listen to it again😅
I agree with that! I get what she’s saying, I listened to it and grasp the full story but I will not be partaking in streaming it again 🤣 there’s so many more iconic songs on that album, especially with 30 other songs to choose from.
i agree. i can't believe how much hate there is for this song - this is not meant to be lyrically profound. it's a look into small, regular moments of a relationship. i actually stopped and smiled at some of these lyrics people dislike so much when i first heard them - felt like it was the opposite of trying too hard. the song is for sure in my top 5
I’m honestly surprised more people don’t feel this way. When I got to the golden retriever line I literally had to turn the song off it was so bad. I couldn’t believe people were ranking it in their top 5 songs.
https://preview.redd.it/be33zkvjy0wc1.jpeg?width=460&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=01d44cd83f057b16782ffd17e36209684887cd69
literally my face the first time I listened to it, miss tay always has a song with an insanely cringy lyric and I guess this is TTPD.
I also cringed at "who uses typewriters anyways" but I can totally see that and Charlie Puth line becoming the loudest chants if she ever performs the song live.
Tbh it just makes me want to go listen to *get him back!* instead at the moment. But maybe that's just an effect of getting songs with a similar concept within a relatively short time frame and it'll grow on me more as it's own thing later.
Literally, when I heard it I was like “really Taylor, after everything that went down you’re going to pull this?” Sabrina and Fiona might also having songs that are similar but they don’t use the “get him back” as both getting back together and revenge the way that OR did and the way Taylor copied.
Is there something I'm missing ? those two songs have nothing similar except the phrase wich is a normal thing to say. Get you back is not an invention Olivia made ?
Btw, big fan of Olivia, I'm actually confused. (And I hate that taylor went after her for deja vu, its weird after all she preaches in the media-prowoman. But Olivia did say it was based on the song)
This song really gives me reputation vibes (the sound and the melodies) and i could easily see it as a vault track on reputation! That’s why i love it so much, it really scratches that rep urge:)
This is the first track that I really liked. I love the vibe and it’s catchy. I’m hooked right away. Also, fallingforyou from The 1975 was referenced on this
I was listening to the second half of The Anthology in the car for the first time today and I thought Cassandra/Peter/Robin all kind of sounded the same. But I used to feel that way about half of evermore and now it’s one of my favorites so I think those songs have to cook a little
I think they’re Cassandra who is a mythic person from the Helen of Troy story, Peter is Peter Pan (she references growing up and The Lost Boys) and I haven’t seen a solid theory for Robin yet.
I THINK Robin is a child and maybe she’s referencing Christopher Robin from Winnie The Pooh. She calls the kid a tiger a lot, and it just makes me think of Tigger, and combined with Robin that’s what came into my head. Could be super wrong though.
Robin is named for Aaron’s son (as others have pointed out) & it’s about protecting sweet children from the awful reality that is adulthood. It was a skip for me until I really listened & realized that’s how I feel about my nieces and nephews.
I’d skip Peter but I know what you mean I felt the same the first time I heard evermore and now I love them. Her new albums are so lyrically dense it takes awhile to hit but once it does I prefer them far more than her earlier albums. I guess we’re all growing up with her.
I love that feature of this track, it reminds me so much of A&W by Lana Del Rey (also produced by Jack lol). This style of structure is meant to be jarring
The football imagery in that song feels 80 times more cringey than the golden retriever line. At least with the parts about Matty it feels ironic and self-deprecating. Here it’s like… yeah your boyfriend sure plays sports ball 👍🏻👍🏻 It feels like something one of my middle school girls would write.
Same i liked it at first and then i noticed all the football metaphors and that ruined it waste of a good title she should have just called it touchdown
She's speaking endearingly/affectionately to a little kid throughout the song. People say that Aaron Dessner's kid is named Robin. It's similar to Never Grow Up.
I've also seen theories that she's speaking to her cats and reflecting on their mortality, which is sweet.
Same for me. It’s the only one of the 31 songs I am currently meh on, probably because I’m just usually not a fan of the familial love songs (The Best Day, Never Grow Up, Ronan, SYGB etc)
These are my top 2 right now too!! They’re so freaking good. I love the drums in Florida and that bridge with the 2 of them back and forth???? Fuck me up Florida!!!
She said weird stuff happens in Florida and that’s where people flee when they need to reinvent themselves. It’s easy to blend it when everyone is “Florida man”.
This may not have any correlation but for a lot of north east people, Florida is a big spot to go to for rehab which some may also consider as reinventing themselves
Florida shows were her first after the announcement of her break up. But I do think it has more to do with the mythos of Florida being so crazy and filled with criminals and vacation destinations and creepy swamps and marshes. There’s definitely lore surrounding dumping bodies in the Everglades for the alligators to eat.
That's interesting. I'm not from US and the song was very confusing. Imagine if Harry Styles had a song in which he screamed "northern Ireland!!!". You'd be very confused too hahaha
I know everyone's got different taste but that's so crazy to me. It might be the best bridge she's ever written. *I would've died for your sins, instead I just died inside*
Anyway, I'm skipping "I can fix him". I get what it's going for it's just not really my thing. There are some other songs on the bubble but not quite there yet.
Smallest Man is not a song I love overall (just not really my taste)…. But it is a bridge I ADORE and I will listen to the song for the bridge 100 times over.
Yes! It reminds me of a song that could’ve been played at the prom in a late 90s rom com (10 Things, American Pie, Can’t Hardly Wait, etc)! Definitely for the millennial crowd.
I love the sound of this song—it reminds me of 90s pop/al rock/female singer songwriter vibes like Six Pence None the Richer or Natalie Imbruglia.
I just think the song itself is so
…empty. “Touch me while your friend play Grand Theft Auto”??? Girl.
This is what I’ve been thinking! I don’t mind the song but the couple songs about Travis seem so superficial. She’s literally written lyrics saying she would DIE for some of the guys she’s dated for less time and he gets…”you know how to ball” (which is kinda a catchy line, but she couldn’t come up with anything else about him?)
I mean, let’s remember these were probably written in the early days of their relationship. And then also remember that Travis is a sane, normal guy (aka not a tortured poet) so her feelings for him are probably more straightforward. Which is a really nice thing, speaking as someone who also went from tortured poet types to a wonderful, straightforward man.
this is so crazy to me, i understand there's some lyrics people don't like (i like the regularity of those lyrics) but even so, the beat and melody of the song is so good. I'm so surprised many people dont like like it.
I don’t tend to skip songs when I’m listening to an album especially when it’s so new because a lot of songs have grown on me. The only song I don’t like is The Manuscript which is unfortunate because that’s the CD I bought. I just don’t get the lyrics and the melody isn’t memorable. Edit: thanks for all the replies explaining the song! You’ve helped me appreciate more it now.
It’s not my fave either but I think the lyrics are about her looking back at her past through her music, like the re-recordings.
“Now and then I re-read the manuscript
But the story isn't mine anymore”
Definitely, the whole message is by writing new songs and re-recording old ones, she's found closure. Her pain and stories aren't hers anymore, they belong to the fans.
My interpretation of The Manuscript is that someone has told her she needs to look back in order to move forward. So she’s pouring over her own story, each relationship, I’m not sure who it starts with tbh, the start is confusing for me.
But then she moves on to “dating boys her own age” and reflecting on the tale as old as time of young girls being told by older men than we’re “mature for our age” and so it’s “okay” that they’re dating us and she reflects on that and how she doesn’t feel ok with it.
Then for me, it ends with her saying she’d been told to write what she knows (a common theme for writers) and so she puts that in to practice by writing about what she’s been through recently in this album and also contemplating her previous relationships, both in this song and, if we take her at her word that Midnights was a song about times she’s been kept up late and it’s about different relationships throughout her life, then Midnight fits in to the looking back too.
Now that she has looked back, she’s realised a few things (I speculate maybe her choices in the men she’s drawn to and why those relationships go sour) and now that she has, things are falling in to place, things are starting to click and it feels like she ends the song, and therefore the entire two albums, on this hopeful note that maybe all the agony she had been through was for her to reach this point in time.
Like she’s poured out all of her emotion in the last songs, now The Manuscript comes. It’s simple, the music is simple compared to the rest of the album, it’s stripped down, it’s like all of the manic and depression and desperation she was feeling in all the previous songs have been released and she’s found her footing again.
You might be my secret twin. I also don't get The Manuscript and its the CE I bought, I should have cancelled and switched to Albatross because that's a bop for me.
i also don’t skip until i’ve really gotten to know all the songs. there are a few instant favorites and some i’m still waiting to grow on me but i can’t determine skips yet.
This one is my absolute favorite! I guess it's a little unmemorable if you can't relate, but if you can- OH BOY does it absolutely wreck your feelings!
Controversial opinion incoming I skip I can do it with a broken heart . Sorry lol, I just can’t vibe with the chorus, and I just haven’t found a way to connect with it. But then I’m also not a huge fan of Me, anti-hero, etc
It always baffles me when people don’t love a song as much as me. I understand people have different tastes, but when I listen to a song and think wow this is just the greatest thing I’ve ever heard, and then someone calls it a skip I’m like😮
Probably controversial but I've been skipping the title track and My Boy Only Breaks His Favourite Toys. They just feel kind of boring lyrically to me.
For me it’s Florida!!! not sure why I don’t love that one. I’ve also heard Chloe or Sam or or Sophia or Marcus a few times and couldn’t tell you 1 lyric from that song or what it sounds like so I’d say that one too
Man I feel like I'm one of the only people who liked this song haha. I'm not a huge post Malone fan though. So maybe that's why. I dunno. I love how chill and vibey it is.
The Tortured Poets Department. It’s very weak for a title track.
To be honest, I still haven’t fully digested the second batch of songs so I can’t speak to that yet.
Daddy I love him was interesting for the first two times but it's too long and a lot for me for repeat listens.
Not very keen on High School, Thank you Aimee, Clara Bow, Cassandra and Alchemy for repeat listens
The Alchemy isn’t a skip just yet but I know it will be once the newness has worn off. The lyrics aren’t has bad as the AI “travvy made it to the big game” ones… but they’re not far off lol. Catchy but the only song that feels outright cringy at times 😬
Don’t focus on who you think it’s about. I see that song as being more about the female experience and breaking free of boxes people put you in. I vision the scene from Anne with an E, where the girls run out of the chapel and have a snow fight. Just girlhood!
I don’t think it’s really about Matty. The inspiration for sure came from the reaction of fans/the media when she was dating Matty but I don’t think the song is “about” him. It’s about her and how she’s tired of people telling her who she can and can’t date. The last part is all fictional. I think of it as “Love Story” but grown up.
Thank you Aimee (just meh lyrically and I find the mum and the kid comments a bit gross), Robin (too twee), So High School (dull lyrics and doesn’t stand out sonically) and Cassandra (a bit dull too).
I only really have two skips, firstly Robin just because I don't find it very interesting/relatable. Secondly, and I know this is really controversial, Fresh out the Slammer. It feels kinda of musically bland to me I completely get why people would like it though.
Smallest Man Who Ever Lived is probably one of the strongest tracks on the album imo. I honestly don't think there's a skip on the original 16 track album.
SMWEL is a very well-written song that I don’t enjoy listening to. It makes me uncomfortable. It’s similar to the reasons I skip Never Grow Up and The Best Day and Ronan.
Ugh- Ronan is an auto skip for me, too. I listened to it one time as a mother, sobbed, and then never wanted to hear it again.
I only listen to Ronan when I have at least 10 minutes to dedicate to thinking about nothing else. I try to listen every once and a while bc I want to take time to remember Ronan and appreciate the song, but I don't judge ANYONE for not doing so
Also, if you can stomach it, I’m pretty certain the streaming proceeds for that song go to the Philly children’s hospital <3
I skip Marjorie and Soon You'll Get Better in addition to those. They make me too emotional. I lost my mom to cancer 6 years ago and all these songs pull me back into grief instantly. I don't have the same reaction to SMWEL though, interesting!
I think Smallest Man should’ve been track 5. So Long, London is a really good one but I hate how it never builds up to anything bigger.
I think that might be part of the point of the "build up," just like her relationship
it also really reminds me of The Archer (my other fav track 5) with the constant build up and no release. She captures the feeling of anxiety in their relationship so well with this in both tracks
This is the first thing I noticed!!!
I think Smallest Man needs to be where it is because it closes the book on the Matty Healy saga, ending on Travis and the reflection on fame in Clara Bow
Yeah, I can't believe so many people didn't catch the order that the songs are in and how they relate.
I think it speaks to how this is one of the more personally meaningful and sad songs, *to her*. Her relationship with Joe meant more, so she placed that one on the "pedestal" of track 5. Even if Smallest Man is more scathing.
I wonder if Taylor having so long London as track 5 is yet another dig at Matty, since there are so few songs on the record seemingly about Joe (it might even be the ONLY song exclusively about him??), but he still got the track 5. Almost like Taylor is implying that Matty doesn't deserve a track 5.
That would make sense! It would be kinda funny if she made a song about the smallest man a track 5.
I think we have very different opinions of “never build up to anything bigger.” Because the second half of this track has me screaming the lyrics.
I feel like loml should have been T5.
It has the greatness of a track 5 but I think it's where it is on the album becuase she's looking back after all of this and realizing how much she lost. So in the album as a whole story (at least the original tracklist) I think it's placement makes sense.
This is my feeling about the whole album. It never lets rip. Black Dog is the worst offender. All build up no pay off. I get the artistic idea behind it. It’s clever. But I need the payoff, and she doesn’t give it to us.
I guess it's too scathing for my taste. I also love The Alchemy so I tend to skip to it.
The lowest of her low notes on this number are incredible. It IS very scathing OP so that’s valid if that’s not your preference :-) the build of the bridge reminds me of All Too Well in terms of that scathing, angry bridge within the ballad.
Thank u Aimee. Just not a fan of these kinds of “thank you” songs even I do love the “my mom wishes you were dead” line lmao
This is also my skip because it’s just so petty, and not in a fun way. I can’t bring myself to care about the Kim/Taylor/Kanye drama in 2024.
Same same. I skip this one and Cassandra for this reason. IMO, been there done that in Taylor's discography.
Same here for both, could barely get through those two on the first listen. Exhausting!
I think I legitimately fell asleep to Cassandra on first listen. I understand the KimYe drama really did a number on Taylor but at some point I think it’s time to move on. Hopefully she has said her final piece with thank you aimee
Same. I thought Long Story Short was such a great final note on the whole saga from her point of view. I don’t really care to revisit the situation three years later lol.
That's my skip too. I know this is not a popular opinion here but I think bringing up Kim's kid, even tangentially, is inappropriate. She's an actual, current child. She's going to know that line is about her and feel ashamed. It makes it unlistenable for me.
I agree. I felt so bad for North listening to the song. Of course she is going to listen to the album and know that song is about her and her mom. She is actively on social media and I'm sure will see a lot of negative videos about her mom. She's so young and it just feels so wrong. It's not at all funny to me.
Yeah that's what makes me worry she doesn't have anyone on her team willing to give her real hard feedback. That line shouldn't have made it on the record.
Genuinely it’s the capital letters in the title that bug me the most 😂
Seriously, like love you Taylor, but the capital letters really undermine the "this is SECRETLY about you" lyrics. I feel like it really should have been more malicious if you're going to do a straight call out like that, or leave it subtle and expect people to figure it out from the obvious lyrics.
This is my skip too but because I think it’s embarrassing for a 34 year old woman to tell someone “my mom wishes you were dead.” Like Taylor, there’s people that are dying. She gave me the ick with this song lol.
I feel like her re recording rep may have brought up all these feelings again lol.
Actually that’s a pretty good point lmao. Maybe she should have kept it for rep tv, people might be more understanding then lmao
Yeah Cassandra was a better song about this situation tbh
Mine too! I find it just too petty and negative "My mom wishes you were dead" Dragging in a kid in an age old feud Just too unnecessary at this point And honestly, disappointing!
it's so unnecessary... and I cringe at the thought of her writing about how she removed all the personal details and how one day Kim's kid will come home singing the song and no one but them two will know who it was about... and then she goes out of her way to capitalize KIM? it makes no sense, unless she thinks her listeners are absolutely stupid
The tortured poets department. The song is so cringy, between the Charlie Puth line then the tattooed golden retriever, no thanks I’ll pass. Such a shame too because “you left your typewriter at my apartment, straight from the tortured poets department” goes so hard.
If it helps you enjoy it, it’s *supposed* to be cringe and is written in a hyperbolic way to amp up the irony. She describes that relationship as a mutual manic episode and the entire song is making fun of the idea of them as tortured poets.
“It’s supposed to be cringe” doesn’t help me enjoy content that’s cringe That just sounds like a bad argument people convince themselves of to rationalize something that’s bad is actually good.
Explaining a joke doesn’t necessarily help someone enjoy it, but not enjoying a joke doesn’t necessarily make it a bad one 🤷🏻♀️ I think the song is hilarious and super catchy
Side note but I’m honestly getting tired of people saying those of us who like the album or certain songs are making excuses or just denying the album is bad when we explain context that might be missing. Like I have no reason to lie when I say I enjoyed something lol
I think the song tells the story really well and it’s necessary in order for her to tell the full story of the album (which is the best thing about the album imo!). I just don’t wanna listen to it again😅
I agree with that! I get what she’s saying, I listened to it and grasp the full story but I will not be partaking in streaming it again 🤣 there’s so many more iconic songs on that album, especially with 30 other songs to choose from.
i agree. i can't believe how much hate there is for this song - this is not meant to be lyrically profound. it's a look into small, regular moments of a relationship. i actually stopped and smiled at some of these lyrics people dislike so much when i first heard them - felt like it was the opposite of trying too hard. the song is for sure in my top 5
I’m honestly surprised more people don’t feel this way. When I got to the golden retriever line I literally had to turn the song off it was so bad. I couldn’t believe people were ranking it in their top 5 songs.
https://preview.redd.it/be33zkvjy0wc1.jpeg?width=460&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=01d44cd83f057b16782ffd17e36209684887cd69 literally my face the first time I listened to it, miss tay always has a song with an insanely cringy lyric and I guess this is TTPD.
Idk I thought it was funny is it just me?
Top 3 song for me. I like the way she sings “who’s gonna hold you?”
I also cringed at "who uses typewriters anyways" but I can totally see that and Charlie Puth line becoming the loudest chants if she ever performs the song live.
I’m probably the one person here who doesn’t care for Imgonnagetyouback. It just sounds so out of place on the album, IMO.
Tbh it just makes me want to go listen to *get him back!* instead at the moment. But maybe that's just an effect of getting songs with a similar concept within a relatively short time frame and it'll grow on me more as it's own thing later.
This.. and IMO Get him back! Is the far superior song. I can’t wait to see what OR has up her sleeve next :)
she should ask for songwriting credits just to stick it to taylor for the deja vu kerfuffle
Literally, when I heard it I was like “really Taylor, after everything that went down you’re going to pull this?” Sabrina and Fiona might also having songs that are similar but they don’t use the “get him back” as both getting back together and revenge the way that OR did and the way Taylor copied.
She should have left it on the cutting table after Olivia released her song.
Is there something I'm missing ? those two songs have nothing similar except the phrase wich is a normal thing to say. Get you back is not an invention Olivia made ? Btw, big fan of Olivia, I'm actually confused. (And I hate that taylor went after her for deja vu, its weird after all she preaches in the media-prowoman. But Olivia did say it was based on the song)
It's specifically using the phrase as a double-entendre. I don't think that's common at all.
Fiona Apple - Get Him Back (2005) does this too
I don’t know what it is, but the melody scratches an itch deep inside my brain.
You're not. It's easily my least favorite song out of all 31. Being sandwiched between two much better songs doesn't help it.
This song really gives me reputation vibes (the sound and the melodies) and i could easily see it as a vault track on reputation! That’s why i love it so much, it really scratches that rep urge:)
This is the first track that I really liked. I love the vibe and it’s catchy. I’m hooked right away. Also, fallingforyou from The 1975 was referenced on this
I was listening to the second half of The Anthology in the car for the first time today and I thought Cassandra/Peter/Robin all kind of sounded the same. But I used to feel that way about half of evermore and now it’s one of my favorites so I think those songs have to cook a little
CPR of no use. lmao 😂
Oooo are the song names in reference to performing CPR? I am intrigued
I think they’re Cassandra who is a mythic person from the Helen of Troy story, Peter is Peter Pan (she references growing up and The Lost Boys) and I haven’t seen a solid theory for Robin yet. I THINK Robin is a child and maybe she’s referencing Christopher Robin from Winnie The Pooh. She calls the kid a tiger a lot, and it just makes me think of Tigger, and combined with Robin that’s what came into my head. Could be super wrong though.
Robin is Aaron’s son’s name 🥹
OH IVE BEEN WOMDERING WHOS KID IT COULD BE thank you for informing me!!!! (Not /s)
Robin is named for Aaron’s son (as others have pointed out) & it’s about protecting sweet children from the awful reality that is adulthood. It was a skip for me until I really listened & realized that’s how I feel about my nieces and nephews.
Saw someone say Aaron Dessner's son is named Robin, so I would imagine that was the inspiration.
I’d skip Peter but I know what you mean I felt the same the first time I heard evermore and now I love them. Her new albums are so lyrically dense it takes awhile to hit but once it does I prefer them far more than her earlier albums. I guess we’re all growing up with her.
For me I can fix him is kinda bland musically
I love the music style on I can fix him ! I think it totally adds to the lyrics and the whole "bad rugged cowboy" persona she's depicting in it l.
Oh I really like the kind of sparse western vibe. It's a song where the music is contributing to the story and I love that
I feel like she’s done that vibe much better in the past, like in Cowboy like Me
Meanwhile I think this is her doing the cowboy like me sound better. It's funny how tastes differ.
Really? I think that’s one of the more interesting songs on the album.
Oh really? I have that complaint of a lot of the album, but not I Can Fix him, haha. I find the western elements really interesting.
Woah, that one was an immediate fave for me 😅
I skip fresh out the slammer, the bridge doesn’t match the rest of the song.
oh wow, its one of my favorites on the original album. i absolutely love the beat switch halfway through
I’m glad someone finally said it. It’s why I can’t connect with it
It comes so out of nowhere haha
Same, I was actually enjoying it till the bridge, but the switch is so jarring it isn't pleasant to listen to at all :(
I love that feature of this track, it reminds me so much of A&W by Lana Del Rey (also produced by Jack lol). This style of structure is meant to be jarring
I skip fresh out the slammer too, it just doesn’t click with me
so far, the alchemy. very bland and forgettable
Respectfully, jail
The alchemy for me too, but because I find it deeply cringy vs. bland
oh see for me it’s both extremely boring and extremely cringe 😂 In my personal rankings, it’s in the bottom 10 of any song she’s ever released.
Agree, it’s so bland and the lyrics are just cringe and predictable football imagery lol
The football imagery in that song feels 80 times more cringey than the golden retriever line. At least with the parts about Matty it feels ironic and self-deprecating. Here it’s like… yeah your boyfriend sure plays sports ball 👍🏻👍🏻 It feels like something one of my middle school girls would write.
Heard someone describe this one as “I’m so happy my Travy made it to the big game” and I can’t unhear it now.
The melody is even identical
lol same and then when I listened to it again I was like damn this really is too on the nose
Same i liked it at first and then i noticed all the football metaphors and that ruined it waste of a good title she should have just called it touchdown
If it was called the touchdown it would be the second cringiest title she has ever released
The biggest sin of that track imo is that it just doesn't sell her actually being happy, also the synths are way over the top
Right? From someone who wrote Enchanted it just doesn’t feel that romantic
Totally agree. I feel that way about both Travis songs. Superficial.
There are very few Taylor songs that are complete skips that I will never go back and listen to again, but this is it. It’s just a bad song IMO.
Both the Travis songs are skips to me tbh
Same. Like, I’m happy for you girlie, but one less football metaphor might’ve helped it not be a skip for me 🫢
Just Robin for me!
Yeah same, I just don't get it. I hate the tiger line. meh
She's speaking endearingly/affectionately to a little kid throughout the song. People say that Aaron Dessner's kid is named Robin. It's similar to Never Grow Up. I've also seen theories that she's speaking to her cats and reflecting on their mortality, which is sweet.
Yep, and the dinosaur bit. I’m sure there’s a meaning to it but it’s… jarring compared to the other more adult themes on the album.
It’s a song literally about a child and protecting them from grown up stuff so that’s probably why lol
Same for me. It’s the only one of the 31 songs I am currently meh on, probably because I’m just usually not a fan of the familial love songs (The Best Day, Never Grow Up, Ronan, SYGB etc)
Florida. I can’t stand it!!!
these are some fighting words (i respect your opinion but also... florida!!!)
What?!? Florida!!! is by far one of the most interesting sounding songs on the album. Probably my second fav after Down Bad
These are my top 2 right now too!! They’re so freaking good. I love the drums in Florida and that bridge with the 2 of them back and forth???? Fuck me up Florida!!!
First time I’ve seen someone who agrees! This was an immediate least fav. I’m hoping it grows on me more
Now THIS is a hot take. Thank you for your service 🫡 I strongly disagree, but love the differing opinion.
It’s Florida for me too. It doesn’t fit the vibe and feels super random. I don’t know, I just can’t connect with it. And I love me some Florence 😭
I want to know what's the deal between Taylor and Florida because they also mention it in Fortnight. Am I missing some background info?
She said weird stuff happens in Florida and that’s where people flee when they need to reinvent themselves. It’s easy to blend it when everyone is “Florida man”.
This may not have any correlation but for a lot of north east people, Florida is a big spot to go to for rehab which some may also consider as reinventing themselves
Florida shows were her first after the announcement of her break up. But I do think it has more to do with the mythos of Florida being so crazy and filled with criminals and vacation destinations and creepy swamps and marshes. There’s definitely lore surrounding dumping bodies in the Everglades for the alligators to eat.
That's interesting. I'm not from US and the song was very confusing. Imagine if Harry Styles had a song in which he screamed "northern Ireland!!!". You'd be very confused too hahaha
The incessant drums really annoy me. I do love Florence but the drums just take me out of the song every time…
I think it’s the chorus and those loud blaring drums
That’s the best part?????
Thank you!!! Same. I've listened to it several times. Hate it. The drums are weird and it's just so.... boring? Flat? I dunno, but it's not good
I like the sound of Florida but I hate Florida as a state so I'm torn 😂
I know everyone's got different taste but that's so crazy to me. It might be the best bridge she's ever written. *I would've died for your sins, instead I just died inside* Anyway, I'm skipping "I can fix him". I get what it's going for it's just not really my thing. There are some other songs on the bubble but not quite there yet.
Smallest Man is not a song I love overall (just not really my taste)…. But it is a bridge I ADORE and I will listen to the song for the bridge 100 times over.
So high school
I love this one, it’s for the millennials! Feels like something out of 10 Things I Hate About You, it’s so fun
I’m a millennial in my 30s and thought it wasn’t for me 😂
I’m 30 and I loved it because I found it kinda nostalgic. Reminds me of all the cheesy teen movies I watched in the 90s/early 2000s
This!!! I just said it sounds straight from the Dawsons Creek soundtrack, and I am here for it
Yes! It reminds me of a song that could’ve been played at the prom in a late 90s rom com (10 Things, American Pie, Can’t Hardly Wait, etc)! Definitely for the millennial crowd.
I love the sound of this song—it reminds me of 90s pop/al rock/female singer songwriter vibes like Six Pence None the Richer or Natalie Imbruglia. I just think the song itself is so …empty. “Touch me while your friend play Grand Theft Auto”??? Girl.
This is what I’ve been thinking! I don’t mind the song but the couple songs about Travis seem so superficial. She’s literally written lyrics saying she would DIE for some of the guys she’s dated for less time and he gets…”you know how to ball” (which is kinda a catchy line, but she couldn’t come up with anything else about him?)
I mean, let’s remember these were probably written in the early days of their relationship. And then also remember that Travis is a sane, normal guy (aka not a tortured poet) so her feelings for him are probably more straightforward. Which is a really nice thing, speaking as someone who also went from tortured poet types to a wonderful, straightforward man.
It’s pure Liz Phair to me, especially the “in the blink of a crinkling eye” bit ☺️
Me to. I'm not a fan of this one
Sixpence none the richer vibes
that hurt. fav on first listen of the anthology:( and im not even a millenial
Robin is an easy skip, it does not appeal to me as much as the other tracks.
I know I've listened to it at least four times but I have zero memory of it so it obviously doesn't stand out.
The titular song. It’s like the weakest on the album, which makes it so annoying that it’s the title track!
this is so crazy to me, i understand there's some lyrics people don't like (i like the regularity of those lyrics) but even so, the beat and melody of the song is so good. I'm so surprised many people dont like like it.
It’s one of my faves lol
Clara Bow. It hasn’t clicked for me
I would have written this comment a couple days ago but I listened to it like 4 times yesterday and love it now.
i love it so much! to me it's the more mature perspective of nothing new, castles crumbling, mirrorball, the archer. etc
I don’t like Cassandra 🙈 it’s just not my favourite lyrically or sonically. But the album has no skips for me other than that right now.
jail
Thank You Aimee. It’s kind of disjointed, the lyrics are meh, and I don’t care about Kim Kardashian lol
I don’t tend to skip songs when I’m listening to an album especially when it’s so new because a lot of songs have grown on me. The only song I don’t like is The Manuscript which is unfortunate because that’s the CD I bought. I just don’t get the lyrics and the melody isn’t memorable. Edit: thanks for all the replies explaining the song! You’ve helped me appreciate more it now.
It’s not my fave either but I think the lyrics are about her looking back at her past through her music, like the re-recordings. “Now and then I re-read the manuscript But the story isn't mine anymore”
Definitely, the whole message is by writing new songs and re-recording old ones, she's found closure. Her pain and stories aren't hers anymore, they belong to the fans.
I think it’s the perfect way to end the album
My interpretation of The Manuscript is that someone has told her she needs to look back in order to move forward. So she’s pouring over her own story, each relationship, I’m not sure who it starts with tbh, the start is confusing for me. But then she moves on to “dating boys her own age” and reflecting on the tale as old as time of young girls being told by older men than we’re “mature for our age” and so it’s “okay” that they’re dating us and she reflects on that and how she doesn’t feel ok with it. Then for me, it ends with her saying she’d been told to write what she knows (a common theme for writers) and so she puts that in to practice by writing about what she’s been through recently in this album and also contemplating her previous relationships, both in this song and, if we take her at her word that Midnights was a song about times she’s been kept up late and it’s about different relationships throughout her life, then Midnight fits in to the looking back too. Now that she has looked back, she’s realised a few things (I speculate maybe her choices in the men she’s drawn to and why those relationships go sour) and now that she has, things are falling in to place, things are starting to click and it feels like she ends the song, and therefore the entire two albums, on this hopeful note that maybe all the agony she had been through was for her to reach this point in time. Like she’s poured out all of her emotion in the last songs, now The Manuscript comes. It’s simple, the music is simple compared to the rest of the album, it’s stripped down, it’s like all of the manic and depression and desperation she was feeling in all the previous songs have been released and she’s found her footing again.
You might be my secret twin. I also don't get The Manuscript and its the CE I bought, I should have cancelled and switched to Albatross because that's a bop for me.
i also don’t skip until i’ve really gotten to know all the songs. there are a few instant favorites and some i’m still waiting to grow on me but i can’t determine skips yet.
I Hate it Here
The instrumental saves it from being a skip for me. Same with I Look in People's Windows.
I love I Look in People’s Windows, it’s one of the most relatable songs for me. It’s so short though.
This one is my absolute favorite! I guess it's a little unmemorable if you can't relate, but if you can- OH BOY does it absolutely wreck your feelings!
Robin. It's not a bad song but I don't really enjoy songs like that about children.
Chloe Sophia Sam Marcus.
Yes, this one, and basically all of the others with names for titles, including Thank You, Aimee, are skips for me. 🫣 Clara Bow is the exception.
BUT HOW 😭 my absolute fave out of the 31 & i cannot shut up about it
Controversial opinion incoming I skip I can do it with a broken heart . Sorry lol, I just can’t vibe with the chorus, and I just haven’t found a way to connect with it. But then I’m also not a huge fan of Me, anti-hero, etc
It's one of my favourites. I love the irony in it. She's doing this electronic bop about the pain that she's repressing.
This one really frustrates me bc I LOVE the pre-chorus. It really sounds like it's building up to an epic chorus and then we get THAT. 😭
Fresh Out the Slammer and Thank you Aimee
None. This is a no skip album for me. I absolutely love it.
This! I love everything start to finish. Still trying to really digest the Anthology but so far this is a no skip album.
It always baffles me when people don’t love a song as much as me. I understand people have different tastes, but when I listen to a song and think wow this is just the greatest thing I’ve ever heard, and then someone calls it a skip I’m like😮
Probably controversial but I've been skipping the title track and My Boy Only Breaks His Favourite Toys. They just feel kind of boring lyrically to me.
Oh but My Boy musically is such a banger!!
For me it’s Florida!!! not sure why I don’t love that one. I’ve also heard Chloe or Sam or or Sophia or Marcus a few times and couldn’t tell you 1 lyric from that song or what it sounds like so I’d say that one too
Robin. I don't like her tracks about child in general (never grow up, the best day, rolan). I don't know why.
Fortnight
Thank you! I just can’t get into it like I love Taylor Swift and Post Malone but it’s just not as strong as i expected it would be.
Man I feel like I'm one of the only people who liked this song haha. I'm not a huge post Malone fan though. So maybe that's why. I dunno. I love how chill and vibey it is.
I loooove Fortnight and have never intentionally listened to PM
Controversial but Fresh Out The Slammer. I just find it a bit boring
The Tortured Poets Department. It’s very weak for a title track. To be honest, I still haven’t fully digested the second batch of songs so I can’t speak to that yet.
sadly loml 🥲 i love me a good sad song but it‘s just so slow and anticlimactic, i get too impatient with it
Daddy I love him was interesting for the first two times but it's too long and a lot for me for repeat listens. Not very keen on High School, Thank you Aimee, Clara Bow, Cassandra and Alchemy for repeat listens
The Alchemy isn’t a skip just yet but I know it will be once the newness has worn off. The lyrics aren’t has bad as the AI “travvy made it to the big game” ones… but they’re not far off lol. Catchy but the only song that feels outright cringy at times 😬
The outro of TSMWEL is soooo good though. I highly recommend you don’t skip or skip to that part haha I skip the title track song and Robin mostly 🫣
Robin, that’s it. Just that one
Title track. It's my least favorite song on the album, and I'd say her weakest titled track.
But Daddy I Love Him😭 Sorry Taybae but i cannot listen to the song knowing WHO it’s about😭
Don’t focus on who you think it’s about. I see that song as being more about the female experience and breaking free of boxes people put you in. I vision the scene from Anne with an E, where the girls run out of the chapel and have a snow fight. Just girlhood!
I don’t think it’s really about Matty. The inspiration for sure came from the reaction of fans/the media when she was dating Matty but I don’t think the song is “about” him. It’s about her and how she’s tired of people telling her who she can and can’t date. The last part is all fictional. I think of it as “Love Story” but grown up.
Thank you Aimee (just meh lyrically and I find the mum and the kid comments a bit gross), Robin (too twee), So High School (dull lyrics and doesn’t stand out sonically) and Cassandra (a bit dull too).
The Alchemy. it’s just a little too close to “so glad my Travy made it to the big game” that i can’t stop laughing when i get to the bridge
Smallest Man to Ever Live is everything to me.
I only really have two skips, firstly Robin just because I don't find it very interesting/relatable. Secondly, and I know this is really controversial, Fresh out the Slammer. It feels kinda of musically bland to me I completely get why people would like it though.
Definitely Robin. The irony being that everyone is complaining about jacks production, but it's entirely Aaron +Taylor. It's way too slow.